The prince is more stable

Chapter 571: Victory News Arrives
It turns out that men's intuition is more reliable than women's.

The moment the shrill sound of the arrow exploded in the night sky, Yelu Otera's heart finally died.

It was midnight, and darkness was utterly gloomy all around. The army had just crossed the Yellow River and hadn't even had time to set up camp when an inexplicable blast of arrows shot through the clouds. What did this signify?
"All troops, be on alert and form up in place!" Yelu Otera shouted loudly.

As soon as he finished speaking, he jumped on his horse and rushed out, heading straight for the gathering place of the Liao army soldiers.

At the same time, the Liao army soldiers also saw this gorgeous firework in the night sky. The mood of the entire army instantly fell into panic. They picked up their weapons and looked for their own troops in panic.

The generals and ordinary soldiers were in chaos. Even when Yelu Otera personally went to the army to shout and curse, the defensive formation could not be organized for a long time.

At this time, Yelu Otera no longer cared about his shattered dream of wealth and glory. He wanted to save his life and do his best to reverse this defeat.

In the pitch-black night, the enemy was nowhere to be found, and the scouts sent out had no report back, most of whom had probably been killed by the enemy. The 30,000 Liao troops were like headless flies, flying around in panic.

For the military, such a situation is absolutely a taboo in war. Once such a chaotic situation occurs, defeat is basically inevitable.

But Yelu Otera still wanted to try to rescue him.

When the Liao army finally put together a loose defensive formation, movement was finally heard from the far front.

There were orderly footsteps and the sound of armor colliding.

Boom, boom, boom...

The sound is getting closer and closer. In this dark night, who would not panic when hearing the orderly footsteps that are getting closer and closer, and the murderous aura that seems to invade people's hearts?
Before they even saw the enemy, the Liao army's formation began to become chaotic again. This fear of only hearing the sound but not seeing the person made the Liao army feel suffocated. It was like facing an irresistible divine punishment. In the face of inevitable death, mortals were powerless.

Yelu Otera could still maintain his composure. As the commander-in-chief of an army, he could not lose his judgment even if he was panicked. This army still needed his command to have a glimmer of hope of turning danger into safety.

Drawing his sword, Yelu Otera pointed diagonally forward and shouted, "Shoot!"

With the correct command, the Liao army finally calmed down a little, and arrows flew towards the dark front.

As for the effect, no one knows.

The footsteps in front continued and were getting closer.

When there were about three or four hundred steps left, the footsteps suddenly stopped.

Just as the Liao army soldiers were beginning to relax, they heard a loud shout from afar, followed by countless fleeting flashes of fire in the darkness, accompanied by bursts of loud noises, and the soldiers in front of the Liao army formation fell down one after another.

"It's the Song army's firearms!" Someone in the Liao army yelled miserably.

"We were ambushed by the Song army!"

"It's a dead end! We're doomed!"

The panic that spread like a plague instantly brought the morale of the entire Liao army to freezing point, and a suffocating despair emanated from the team.

Countless Liao army soldiers broke away from the formation and turned around to run.

They ran to the Yellow River and tried to find a boat to cross the river and escape. However, after they crossed the Yellow River, the boatmen rowed their boats away quickly, and there was no boat left on the shore.

The Liao army soldiers, with a strong desire to survive, ignored the fast-flowing water and simply jumped into the Yellow River and swam hard towards the other side. However, they were soon swept away by the current, drifting with the waves and gradually sinking to the bottom of the river.

On the shore, most of the Liao army was still fighting desperately. They had no choice. Jumping into the river meant death, and not jumping into the river also meant death. Perhaps they would rather be shot to death by the Song army's firearms, at least to die quickly.

After hearing the sound of the Song army's firearms firing, Yelu Otera's mood sank into the abyss.

It's not just fear, but also doubts that cannot be resolved until death.

How did the Song army know of his movements? Just this morning, the Liao generals under his command learned the true purpose of this trip. This secret was known only to him and the Liao emperor.

In this era when information was completely blocked, it was impossible for the Song army to know this secret in just half a day. Even if there were spies around Yelu Otera, the news could not have reached the Song army so quickly.

The only explanation is that the Song army generals judged his strategic intentions in advance, set up an ambush early, and waited on the banks of the Yellow River, waiting to lure him into the trap.

Even if the Liao army captured the fishing boats and boatmen crossing the river, it might not be that easy...

Yelu Otera's self-satisfied decision to change the route midway, temporarily abandoning Daming Prefecture and taking Zhending City, now seemed so ridiculous.

It turned out that his thoughts had already been calculated by the generals of the Song army.

At this moment, all the pride he had before turned into slaps in the face.

What made Yelu Wutera even more desperate was that the ambush location chosen by the Song army was too perfect.

On the bank of the Yellow River, if they went forward they would die, and there was no way to retreat. The 30,000 Liao troops had nowhere to escape, and there was no hope for Yelu Otera to preserve his strength and escape.

At this moment tonight, the situation is desperate. There is no possibility of escape for the 30,000 soldiers, including himself.

"Form...form a battle line, fight to the death!" Yelu Otera rode on his horse with his eyes wide open, the knife in his hand trembling slightly, and he was already on the verge of falling.

As the commander-in-chief of an army, even he lost hope of survival, let alone the soldiers under his command.

The Liao army's formation was in complete chaos. No matter how the generals cursed and shouted angrily, or even killed one person to warn the rest, they could not prevent the entire army from being defeated.

Far ahead, rounds of gunfire continued. In the fleeting flash of fire, waves of Liao soldiers fell, never even seeing the enemy's appearance before their death. The Song army calmly and leisurely harvested lives. Whether the Liao soldiers jumped into the river or bravely charged the Song army, the outcome was the same for the Song army.

Four hundred steps ahead, the Song army soldiers loaded their gunpowder, shot, and stood up in an orderly manner.

In the central army formation, Zong Ze and Di Zi rode side by side on their horses, watching the scene calmly.

"General Di, your guess is right. We have finally achieved this great feat." Zong Ze stroked his beard and smiled. The shouting, crying and screaming of the Liao army in the distance sounded like a celebration of his victory to Zong Ze, and was particularly pleasant to the ears.

Di Zi shook his head: "It's not my guess, it's our common guess. I dare not take credit for this battle."

Zong Ze laughed: "It was obviously you who thought of it first. General Di is so cautious, are you afraid of gossip?"

Di Zi smiled bitterly and said, "My son-in-law is the commander-in-chief. As his father-in-law, I cannot cause him any trouble. I am already satisfied that I can participate in the war against Liao. I don't care about any minor military achievements."

Zong Ze shook his head. "What's yours is yours. No one can take it away from you. General Di, why should you belittle yourself? If anyone says anything bad about you, our 20,000 comrades can all testify for you."

Di Zi smiled indifferently. Of course he longed for military merit, otherwise why would he go to the battlefield at this age?
But he was still concerned about his son-in-law's position. The ancient rule of avoiding relatives when recommending relatives was not without reason. If he had the opportunity to lead an army alone in the future, no one would gossip about his military achievements at that time.

The screams from the Liao army across the way were much weaker than before. Zong Ze raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, "It's almost time to wrap things up. 30,000 Liao soldiers are completely within our grasp. Haha, this battle was a real pleasure!"

"Orders, all troops, advance slowly, shoot and kill any remaining enemy, and let no one escape!"

"His Highness the Prince has ordered that no prisoners be taken, and all be killed on the spot!"

"Ride fast to report to His Royal Highness the victory. Our troops have completely annihilated Yelu Otera's 30,000 Liao troops."

…………

Zhending City, the Prince's Mansion.

Zhao Xiaoqian got up very early. After a night of indulgence, although he was a little tired physically, he was very excited.

It is certainly not his intention to get up early in the morning. Given his character, he would have to sleep at least until the afternoon. As a baby over two hundred months old, he is still growing, and he will never treat himself badly in terms of diet and sleep.

What forced Zhao Xiaoqian to get up was an urgent military report from the direction of Datong Prefecture.

The urgent military report was a victory report, sent by Zhe Keshi.

Two days ago, Zhe Keshi's 20,000 troops were ordered to intercept the Liao army led by Xiao Wuna. Zhe Keshi burned the Liao camp, and half of the 30,000 Liao troops were annihilated. The remaining half, led by Xiao Wuna, fled north in panic.

Great victory on the western route!

Zhao Xiaoqian was immediately excited when he heard the news, and hurriedly asked someone to invite General Xu from the inn to his house.

The deputy envoy must be informed of the great news. Zhao Xiaoqian was very selfless towards General Xu. He was willing to share everything with General Xu, no matter whether it was military or national affairs or exploring the beauty of the world.

All I want is a sentence “May good people live a peaceful life”.

Soon, General Xu hurried over from the inn.

Without even bothering to admire the scenery inside the Prince's Mansion, General Xu shouted anxiously to Zhao Xiaoqian, who was sitting in the front courtyard, "Victory news? Is it victory news? Which direction is it from?"

Zhao Xiaoqian handed him the victory report with a smile and said, "The Western Route Army's Zhe Keshi's troops have won a great victory. Half of the enemy was wiped out, but Xiao Wuna escaped. That's a flaw in the ointment."

General Xu took the victory report, read it over carefully several times, slapped his thigh, and laughed loudly, "Excellent, excellent! Destroying half the enemy is already a great achievement. Zhe Keshi has lived up to Zi'an's trust and done a great job!"

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled. In fact, Zhe Keshi could have done a better job. If he had taken it seriously, it would be a blessing for the 30,000 Liao troops under Xiao Wuna to have only a few thousand escape.

However, Zhao Xiaoqian was very concerned about Xiao Wuna's future, so he deliberately asked Zhe Keshi to let him go. He turned a blind eye and let half of Xiao Wuna's troops escape.

Xiao Wuna's true identity was top secret in the Song Dynasty court. Only Zhao Xu, him, and Wei Jie of the Imperial City Bureau knew this secret. The matter was of great importance, so Zhao Xiaoqian also concealed it from General Xu.

Seeing General Xu looking at the victory report over and over again with great joy, Zhao Xiaoqian winked at him and said, "Mr. Chong Yuan, do you think the victory report is good?"

General Xu nodded and said with a smile, "Of course it's nice. It would be great if there were good news like this every day."

Zhao Xiaoqian suddenly asked, "Is the victory report more interesting than the girl in the brothel last night?"

Xu Jiang's expression froze, and he looked at him in surprise: "You, you..."

Zhao Xiaoqian sighed, "Sir, you're really not kind. You actually left me last night and went to a brothel alone to enjoy the beauties. Sir, if you do this kind of thing alone, you'll easily lose friends..."

"I, I..." Xu Jiang's face turned pale and he stammered, unable to form a complete sentence.

Zhao Xiaoqian said innocently, "I'm the prefect of Zhending, and I'm also an official in charge of the Imperial City Bureau. This city is my territory. Isn't it normal for me to know your every move?"

"If you don't believe me, I can tell you more details about what happened last night..."

"That's totally unnecessary!" General Xu shouted sternly with a red face.

Zhao Xiaoqian shook his head and sighed, "What I mean is... this kind of thing requires someone you know to lead the way. The place you chose last night was really hard to describe. Next time, I'll personally take you to the right place and show you some fine food."

(End of this chapter)